The Timid...The Weak

1 Thessalonians 5:14 - And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

2 Thessalonians 3:11 - We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies.

Romans 14:1,6-7,9,14-15 - Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters…He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone…For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living…As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.

1 Corinthians 8:13 - Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.

Conclusions:

• Those who are idle are loafers
• It seems that some Thessalonians were so sure that the second coming was close that they had given up their jobs in order to prepare for it, but Paul says they should work
• The timid and the weak are to be helped, not rejected, by the strong
• Busybodies are worse than idle, they were interfering with other people’s affairs, a problem to which idleness leaves
• The Judaizers thought they could put God in their debt by works of righteousness and were trying to force this heretical teaching on the Galatian churches
• Fellowship among Christians is not to be based on everyone’s agreement on disputable questions
• Christians do not agree on all matters pertaining to the Christian life, nor do they need to
• The motivation behind the actions of both the strong and the weak is to be the same
• Both the strong and the weak should want to serve the Lord and give thanks for His provision
• No Christian lives to Himself alone
• We do not live to please ourselves but the Lord
• Even in death the important thing is one’s relationship to the Lord
• Christ’s Lordship over both the dead and the living arises out of His death and resurrection
• Now that Paul was a Christian, the old food taboos no longer applied
• Sin is not just a matter of subjective opinion or conscience
• Paul is not discussing conduct that in the light of Scripture is clearly sinful, but conduct concerning which Christians may legitimately differ
• With regard to unsinful conduct, decision should be guided by conscience
• Love is the key to proper settlement of disputes
• Christ so valued the weak brother as to die for him
• Surely the strong Christian ought to be willing to make adjustments in his own behavior for the sake of such brothers
• Paul will forever refrain from engaging in the harmless practice of eating meat sacrificed to idols if it will cause his weak Christian brother, who feels it is wrong, also to eat that meat

Application:

• Do you help the weak and timid? Or are you weak and timid?
• Are you a busybody?
• Do you fellowship with Christians you disagree with?
• Do you want to serve the Lord and give thanks for His provision?
• Do you live to please the Lord?
• Is Christ your Lord?
• Is your unsinful conduct guided by conscience?
• Do you make adjustments in your own behavior for the sake of others?
• Do you do things that cause your brother to fall into sin?

All Scripture verses from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible